Its theory and practice is the advocation of multiple cooperative productive units composed of specialists and representatives of workers in each respective field to negotiate and manage the economy. Syndicalism also refers to the political movement (praxis) and tactics used to bring about this type of system.

For adherents, labour unions and labour training (see below) are the potential means of both overcoming economic aristocracy and running society fairly and in the interest of informed and skilled majorities, through union democracy. Industry in a syndicalist system would be run through co-operative confederations and mutual aid. Local syndicates would communicate with other syndicates through the Bourse du Travail (labour exchange) which would cooperatively determine distributions of commodities.

Syndicalism is also used to refer to the tactic of bringing about this social arrangement, typically expounded by anarcho-syndicalism and De Leonism. It aims to achieve a general strike, a workers' outward refusal of their current modes of production, followed by organisation into federations of trade unions, such as the CNT. Throughout its history, the reformist section of syndicalism has been overshadowed by its revolutionary section, typified by the Federación Anarquista Ibérica section of the CNT.[2]

Syndicalism is one of the three most common currents of socialist economics, together with market socialism and socialist planned economies. It holds, on an ethical basis, that all participants in an organised trade internally share ownership of its production. Socialism, in contrast, concerns solely the methods of distribution among trades as is centrally required of each trade; it does not necessarily consider how trades organise internally. Communism (the theory) rejects government-sanctioned private ownership of the means of production in favour of ownership by the social class who actually produce such property, i.e., the workers or proletariat. Under most variants of communism, in the period of socialist transition to a Communist social formation, this social class would also have control of the state; for syndicalists, however, this muddles the distinction between state and proletarian ownership. In syndicalism, unions exist independent of a state, and do not operate under state micromanagement and central planning. As with businesses in capitalism, labour unions in syndicalism would likely share a complicated relationship of co-operation and opposition with the state (with the obvious exception of anarcho-syndicalism, under which there would be no state).

Syndicalists state that society ought to be organised bottom-up based on direct democracy, confederation, workplace democracy and decentralised socialism. In order to achieve such a society they may either initiate a general strike through direct action and workplace occupation or—in the case of reformist syndicalists—develop the syndicalist economics alongside the state, in competition to it. Syndicalists state that delegation—the use of direct representation—will facilitate direct democracy and that each commune/region would be independent in the confederation.

Syndicalism can be accurately divided into the purely economic focused camp, exemplified by the Italian USI (Unione Sindacale Italiana, the largest Italian syndicalist union in 1920, taking part in Biennio rosso[3] ) and the anarcho syndicalism of the CNT (national confederation of labour), taking both political and economic action, wishing to take control of both workplace and political life, while syndicalism has traditionally focused on the economic sector alone.[4]

Although the terms anarcho-syndicalism and revolutionary syndicalism are often used interchangeably, the anarcho-syndicalist label was not widely used until the early 1920s (some credit Sam Mainwaring with coining the term). “The term ‘anarcho-syndicalist’ only came into wide use in 1921-1922 when it was applied polemically as a pejorative term by communists to any syndicalists…who opposed increased control of syndicalism by the communist parties”.[5]

Traditionally the revolutionary political syndicalism of figures such as Rudolph Rocker (widely credited as the father of anarcho-syndicalism) has overshadowed the more reformist or economically focused syndicalism.

Flag used by Anarcho-syndicalists, the red representing socialism and economic action, the black representing anarchism and political action.

Syndicalisme/Sindicalismo is a French/Spanish word meaning "trade unionism". More moderate versions of syndicalism were overshadowed in the early 20th century by revolutionary anarcho-syndicalism, which advocated, in addition to the abolition of capitalism, the abolition of the state, which was expected to be made obsolete by syndicalist economics. Anarcho-syndicalism was most powerful in Spain in and around the time of the Spanish Civil War, but also appeared in other parts of the world, such as in the US-based Industrial Workers of the World and the Unione Sindacale Italiana - the Italian Syndicalist Union.

The earliest expressions of syndicalist structure and methods were formulated in the International Workingmen's Association or First International, particularly in the Jura federation. In 1895, the Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT) in France expressed fully the organisational structure and methods of revolutionary syndicalism influencing labour movements the world over. The CGT was modelled on the development of the Bourse de Travail (labour exchange), a workers' central organisation which would encourage self-education and mutual aid, and facilitate communication with local workers' syndicates. Through a general strike, workers would take control of industry and services and self-manage society and facilitate production and consumption through the labour exchanges. The Charter of Amiens, adopted by the CGT in 1906, represents a key text in the development of revolutionary syndicalism rejecting parliamentarianism and political action in favour of revolutionary class struggle. The Central Organisation of the Workers of Sweden (SAC) (in Swedish the Sveriges Arbetares Centralorganisation), formed in 1910, are a notable example of an anarcho-syndicalist union influenced by the CGT. Today, the SAC is one of the largest anarcho-syndicalist unions in the world in proportion to the population, with some strongholds in the public sector.

The International Workers Association, formed in 1922, is an international syndicalist federation of various labour unions from different countries. At its peak, the International Workers Association represented millions of workers and competed directly for the hearts and minds of the working class with social democratic unions and parties. The SpanishConfederación Nacional del Trabajo played a major role in the Spanish labour movement. It was also a decisive force in the Spanish Civil War, organising worker militias and facilitating the collectivisation of vast sections of the industrial, logistical, and communications infrastructure, principally in Catalonia. Another Spanish anarcho-syndicalist[dubious– discuss] union, the Confederacion General del Trabajo de España, is now the fourth largest union in Spain and the largest anarchist[dubious– discuss] union with tens of thousands of members.

The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), although explicitly "not" syndicalist,[6] were informed by developments in the broader revolutionary syndicalist milieu at the turn of the twentieth-century. At its founding congress in 1905, influential members with strong anarchist or anarcho-syndicalist sympathies like Thomas J. Hagerty, William Trautmann, and Lucy Parsons contributed to the union's overall revolutionary syndicalist orientation.[7] Lucy Parsons, in particular, was a veteran anarchist union organiser in Chicago from a previous generation, having participated in the struggle for the 8-hour day in Chicago and subsequent series of events which came to be known as the Haymarket Affair in 1886.

An emphasis on industrial organisation was a distinguishing feature of syndicalism when it began to be identified as a distinct current at the beginning of the 20th century. Due to a still-tangible faith in the viability of the state socialist system, most socialist groups of that period emphasised the importance of politicalaction through party organisations as a means of bringing about socialism; in syndicalism, trade unions are thus seen as simply a stepping stone to common ownership. Although all syndicalists emphasise industrial organisation, not all reject political action altogether. For example, De Leonists and some other Industrial Unionists advocate parallel organisation both politically and industrially, while recognising that trade unions are at a comparable disadvantage due to the lobby of business groups on political leaders. Syndicalism would historically gain most of its support in Italy, France and particularly Spain, where the anarcho-syndicalist revolution during the Spanish civil war resulted in the widespread implementation of anarchist and more broadly socialist organisational principles throughout various portions of the country for two to three years, primarily Catalonia, Aragon, Andalusia, and parts of the Levante. Much of Spain's economy was put under worker control; in anarchist strongholds like Catalonia, the figure was as high as 75%. Their eventual defeat and World War II led to the formerly prominent theory being repressed, as the three nations where it had the most power were now under fascist control. Support for Syndicalism never fully recovered to the height it enjoyed in the early 20th century.

General Strikes, maps with locations where strikes have occurred; includes resource links

Small history of the UGT in Catalonia Workers at the Center of Mataró and the 1888 Congress of the C / Talleres de Barcelona was born the UGT under the socialist ideals of people like Pablo Iglesias, Reoyo Toribio, Salvador Ferrer, and many others in the problems that the workers had of that century.